Writing about writing—by the Write Source staff

Warning: Early Elementary Teachers Need Help

In one episode of Boston Legal (season three), Candice Bergen defends a young first grade teacher who is accused of gross negligence because one of her students dies after a severe reaction to something he ate. In her closing argument, Bergen lists all of this teacher’s responsibilities and challenges, to emphasize that too much is expected of her. The jury is so moved by Bergen’s speech that they find the teacher not guilty of any crime. That’s life on a popular sitcom/drama.

This episode was of special interest to me because my wife is a first grade teacher, and I am well aware of the challenges and responsibilities she and her colleagues face. I’ve also met with plenty of other early elementary teachers because of my position in educational publishing. Make no mistake; they truly have their hands full.

In a past blog posting, “Time Bound,” I’ve talked about all that is involved in elementary teaching in terms of planning, instruction, and record keeping. (If you’re in any way associated with early education, you know what I am talking about.) Well, there’s much more to this story—there’s the students themselves, classrooms full of six- or seven-year-olds, many with special needs. In terms of health issues, a teacher may have students who…

• have peanut allergies.
• have allergies to food dyes.
• are lactose intolerant.
• are on protein-limited diets.
• are on glutton-free diets.
• react severely to bee stings.
• (You fill in the blank.)

Then there are students with emotional problems who…

• need medications to function.
• are prone to sudden outbursts.
• have little, if any, appreciation of right or wrong.
• will throw a desk or chair if they are set off.
• can’t sit still.
• need attention, nonstop.
• have no social skills.

Plus there are students with various “home situations” who…

• are overprotected.
• are left to fend for themselves.
• want to be babied.
• are absent frequently.
• (You fill in the blank.)

The list could go on, but you get the point. There are some very vulnerable, needy youngsters starting out in our schools. Let’s say a teacher has a classroom with 22 or 23 students; she can expect, perhaps, three or four students with special needs. And all it takes is one or two students with, let’s say, some type of emotional problem to disrupt the dynamics of the classroom (i.e. make life miserable and/or unsafe for the students and the teacher).

Not too long ago, teachers had trained aides to help manage the classroom; but today, because of deep budget cuts, teachers are lucky to get an aide for a half an hour, one or two days a week. Especially challenging students, of course, may spend part of the class day in a special-needs room, if their problems have been identified very early on. But that still leaves the regular classroom teachers with plenty of time, especially at the beginning of the year, to manage everyone by themselves. For a young teacher, as Bergen states, that is too much to ask

I’ve been told that after grades K-2, most students are easier to work with because they seem to mellow out, become a bit more independent, and/or work more closely with a trained specialist. It’s those early years that can be the true test—for everyone involved.

Now I’m not sure if more students today have more special needs or problems than they did 25 years ago when I taught, but that certainly seems to be the case. Let’s just hope that a good chunk of the stimulus money will address staffing in the early grades so teachers can have the proper support to ensure that their classrooms are safe, protective, and productive.

—Dave